Fractured Ruby
by Deneve the Claymore
Summary: In a freak accident where Beacon is attacked by a group of Grimm, four students, Cinder, Ruby, Emerald, and Mercury go missing. With Ruby presumed dead, will Team WBY be able to come together and search for her, or will Ruby be left with Cinder and the others? Why did Cinder take Ruby, and what are her plans?
1. Ruby

Ruby opened her eyes and blinked. It took her a few seconds to realize the siren for Grimm attacks was going off. She jumped out of bed and threw her clothes on, then grabbed Crescent Rose and dashed through the door just as Weiss and Blake looked up from their beds. "Ruby? What's going on?"

Ruby dashed down the hallway. Dormitory doors were thrown open everywhere, but she didn't see any other students. _Where is everybody?_ She tore around the corner into the main hall and crashed headfirst into something. "Ow!" Ruby fell backwards, looked up to see Emerald and grinned in relief. "Emerald! Do you know what's going on? I can't find anyone else, it's like the place is deserted." Emerald nodded. "The students and faculty are fighting a swarm of Grimm at the back of the academy. There are some tough opponents, they'll be busy for a while."

Emerald turned back towards the front of the academy. Ruby frowned. "Why aren't you fighting with them then? I've seen you fight, you can handle Grimm easily!" Emerald shook her head. "Those aren't my orders." Ruby opened her mouth to ask what she meant, then the center window exploded in a gout of flame and someone stepped through. It was Emerald's teammate Cinder, but she wasn't dressed in her school uniform or her fighting outfit from the tournament. Instead, she was wearing a dress and heels with a small bracelet around one ankle.

Ruby's eyes widened. "I know you!" Cinder smiled. "I didn't think we would be seeing that young girl in the red cape again. Imagine my amusement when she turned out to be persistent in her adventures." Crescent Rose unfolded into gun form, and Cinder held up one hand. "Wait. Your fight is not with me today. I could teach you so much. About Ozpin, the Grimm, Dust, even Summer Rose." Ruby gasped and gripped Crescent Rose more tightly. "How do you know about my mother?!" Cinder smiled, and her hand lit up. "That isn't important right now. What is important is whether Mercury will hit you hard enough to kill you or knock you out."

Ruby whirled around, but Mercury was already attacking. He swung his foot down as she turned and landed a direct hit on her cheek. Ruby collapsed, and Mercury looked at her with a disappointed expression. "I was hoping she'd need more then one attack to go down." "That isn't the point of a sneak attack. Also, she's only fifteen, don't forget that." Cinder rolled Ruby over. A small puddle of blood had formed underneath her cheek, which was split open. "Poor child. Trained to be a weapon without understanding who she was fighting for." Cinder swung Ruby onto her shoulder. "Get her weapon. She'll want it when she wakes up." Emerald grabbed Crescent Rose then looked at Cinder. "Ma'm, why exactly are we taking her with us?" Cinder smiled slightly. "She can be useful. As her parents aren't here to ensure that she is properly taught, the duty falls to me."

Cinder jumped onto the ledge of the shattered window. Outside, a small ship was waiting in the courtyard. Emerald and Mercury jumped up next to her, and Cinder turned to look back at Beacon. Ruby's cape blew in the wind behind Cinder. From a distance, it wasn't possible to see that Cinder was carrying someone, only the cape fluttering behind her. Cinder smiled as she saw two figures running towards them, then turned and stepped out the window.


	2. Weiss

As soon as Ruby dashed out the door, Weiss jumped out of bed as well. "Blake, come on! We've got to take care of Ruby!" Blake began dressing and grabbed her weapon. "Ruby is team leader. Even though she's younger, she is capable of taking care of herself." Weiss shook her head. "Blake, you know Ruby's been struggling ever since Yang was arrested in the tournament." Without another word, Blake ran out of the room, and Weiss followed her. They looked up and down the hallway, but it was completely deserted. Team JNPR's door banged open against the wall, and Weiss jumped.

Blake looked at her, and Weiss glared. "I'm not scared! I'm just wondering why it seems that the entire academy is abandoned when the Grimm siren is going off." Weiss turned right and ran down the hallway towards the main hall with Blake next to her. They entered the main hall and Blake's head snapped up as she pointed at the window. "Look!" Weiss looked up and her eyes narrowed. On the ledge of a shattered window was that unusual team from Haven. "What are they doing here?" Weiss stepped forward, and Cinder and the others turned and jumped through the window. "Hey!" Weiss started to run after them, but Blake grabbed her elbow and jerked her back. "Blake, what are you doing? We need to question them!" Blake didn't answer. Instead, she crouched down and looked at a small pool of dark liquid. "Weiss."

Weiss looked down and her stomach dropped. "Is that blood?" Blake nodded and used the tip of her blade to touch it. "It's still fresh. It hasn't even been five minutes yet." "But Grimm don't bleed…" Weiss stared at the blood, then she looked at Blake with worry in her eyes. "Blake, can you tell who's blood this is?" Blake looked at the blood and shook her head. "No. But." She pulled a small cloth out of her pocket and wiped her blade on it, then carefully folded it. "I know someone who could."

Weiss stomped her foot. "But we need to know now! What if it's Ruby?" Blake stood up and looked at her. "What are we waiting for then?" Blake turned and ran for the doors, and Weiss dashed after her. As they ran across the courtyard towards Beacon, Weiss looked up at the moon. " _Don't worry Yang, I'm sure Ruby's fine…_ "


	3. Ruby 2

Everything was black inside the room. There wasn't even a crack of light to show where the door or any type of opening was. Ruby blinked and sat up. It felt like she was in a bed. The covers were soft and warm, but Ruby pushed them off and slid out to stand on the floor. " _…What happened? The last thing I remember is seeing that woman…_ " Ruby reached into her pocket and pulled out her communicator. She clicked it open, but the screen only flashed briefly before showing a "NO SIGNAL" message.

Ruby turned the screen's brightness up and looked around the room. There wasn't a window, but a door was centered in the wall opposite the bed. Ruby looked at the bed and and almost dropped her communicator in shock. Leaning next to the bed was her scythe Crescent Rose. Ruby grabbed it and slipped it under her cape, then went over to the door and pulled on the handle. The door slid open without a sound, and Ruby stepped through into a hallway. To the left it led to a dead end, but to the right it turned and went around a corner.

Ruby crept down the hallway. It was dead silent except for the hum of a machine somewhere in the building. She turned the corner and stopped. Ahead, the hallway branched in three different directions. The closest branch had a single door at the end. Ruby walked to the door and pulled it open. The room on the other side was filled with pots of flame, each a different color. Ruby walked into the room with wide eyes. The majority of the room was filled with rows of tables. Each table was loaded with pots containing small flames. "They're beautiful, aren't they?" Ruby whipped around and saw the fire woman. Ruby's hand flew to her weapon, but the woman held up her hand. "Wait! You'll disturb the flames."

Ruby frowned, but didn't draw her scythe. The woman walked around the table and ran her finger along the rim of a pot containing a teal flame. "Did you know that Dust and crystals can burn? All of them can, and each type has a different color of flame." She reached into the pot and pulled out a handful of the Dust inside. She held out her hand and showed Ruby. The Dust was covered in small dancing flames. They wrapped around the woman's fingers, but didn't seem to be doing her any harm. Ruby stared at the Dust, then looked up at the woman. "Who are you?" The woman turned and carefully poured the Dust back into the pot. "My name is Cinder. You have a lot to learn, Ruby."

Ruby stepped backwards as Cinder's eyes locked on her. It felt like Cinder was staring into her. The intensity of her gaze was almost painful, but it drew Ruby into her eyes. Ruby blinked and looked away. "Why would I want to learn anything from you? You work with Torchwick!" Cinder smiled. "Because." Cinder reached out and touched Ruby's cheek. Ruby blinked and jerked away, then stopped in shock. There was blood on Cinder's fingertips. Ruby reached up and touched her cheek. There was a slash across it and a bruise forming as well. Cinder stepped forward and placed her hand on Ruby's cheek. Ruby stiffened but didn't move. Her cheek grew warm, then stopped hurting completely.

Cinder stepped back, and Ruby touched her cheek then looked at her fingers. There wasn't any blood. It was like there had never been a wound. "How did you do that?" "One of my secrets. Ozpin hasn't told you everything, Ruby. Stay with me, and I'll teach you more then he ever would." Ruby frowned. "Why should I trust you?" Cinder's eyes glowed. "Because I left your scythe in your room. Because I could have killed you at Beacon. And because you want to be strong enough to protect your friends." Ruby looked up at Cinder. "Why are you doing this? You snuck into Beacon, became contenders in the tournament, then left after my sister was disqualified. Do you know what's going on?!" Ruby jammed her hands into her pockets and turned and looked at the pots on the table next to her. The pot closest to her had a round red crystal burning with a bright yellow flame. Her grip tightened on her communicator, then relaxed. "Ok Cinder. Teach me how to be strong."


	4. Cinder

"It was easy, convincing the girl to stay. She wants to get stronger to protect her friends. Showing her what Ozpin has done will be difficult. She doesn't believe he can do wrong." " _Teach her well. She will be useful in reaching the rest._ " "Of course." Cinder stepped out of her room and closed the door behind her. She walked down the hallway towards where she knew Emerald would be. Cinder had walked Ruby back to her room after speaking to her. Ruby was still exhausted and had been asleep before Cinder left the room.

Cinder opened a door and walked into the training room. It always changed dramatically depending on whether Mercury or Emerald was using it. With Emerald, everything would be scattered randomly around the room. Every single piece of equipment would be in play, even the rings and punching bags. With Mercury, the room would be almost bare, only a few of the largest pieces of equipment out. Today, it was Emerald's setup. The set of rings closest to the door was swinging back and forth, but Emerald wasn't anywhere to be seen. Cinder looked at the empty space in front of her and smiled. "Your Semblance has improved." Emerald came into view in front of her. "It still isn't strong enough to fool you ma'm."

Cinder walked into the room with her hands clasped behind her back. "It doesn't need to trick me. It needs to trick the Huntsmen at Beacon. Will you be able to do that?" Emerald nodded. "Yes. I can switch targets more quickly now, and it doesn't take as long to create an idea." Cinder nodded and looked at the highest set of rings, which were suspended only three feet below the ceiling. Those rings were in the very center of the room, within jumping distance of a few pieces of equipment. The handles were worn smooth from being gripped repeatedly, more so then any other set. Cinder turned around just as Emerald opened her mouth. "Yes?" Emerald blinked. "I was just wondering, now that we've left Beacon, what is our next step?"

Cinder smiled. "Our next step." She walked past Emerald and stopped in the doorway. "Neo has gone back to Beacon to finish things in Vale. You and Mercury will continue training." Emerald nodded. "What about you ma'm?" Cinder paused. Emerald was being more daring then usual, asking two questions. "Don't ask any more questions. You know what you need to know." Emerald nodded quickly. "Of course. I'm sorry." She turned and jumped up onto a set of P-bars, and was running along them as Cinder left the room.

Cinder walked down the hallway to her flame room. She opened the door and the flames in each pot grew slightly larger before calming. She walked between the tables towards the back of the room. The tables at the back of the room had different flames then the ones towards the front. Those tables had flames that were easy to identify as certain types of Dust. Water, fire, air, and other common types. These pots, however, had unusual flames. There was a pure black flame, and a dark purple flame with green tips.

Cinder walked straight past these to a table with three cases. Cinder opened the center one and stopped. Inside was a Dust crystal. But the crystal was larger then ones sold in stores. It was almost the length of her forearm, and was as large around as her wrist. The coloring was truly unusual though. The crystal was pure white, except for a dark red running through the center and coloring the points at each end. Cinder carefully picked it up and held it. "There's someone new here. She's young, but she has potential. She needs to be taught. She's too soft." Cinder slid the crystal back into its case and shut it. "If she doesn't, she won't survive. She'll break like the Rose she is."


	5. Weiss 2

Weiss looked around as she and Blake walked through downtown Vale. "Blake, what are we doing here?" Blake spoke over her shoulder. "We're meeting someone who can help." Blake looked up at a window and waved. Weiss looked up and saw someone wave back, then disappear from the window. Blake walked into the alley on the side of the building, and Weiss rolled her eyes and followed her. In the alley, Blake was standing with her arms crossed looking at someone. He had a scarf wrapped around his lower face until only his eyes showed, and his pose mirrored Blake's. Weiss stopped next to Blake and looked from her to the man, but neither of them said anything. They stared at each other, not moving a muscle.

Suddenly the Faunus relaxed, and Blake relaxed as well. "Stupid cat. I told you not to come around here any more. We don't allow White Fang members, you know that." He looked from Weiss's boots to her ponytail and frowned. "And since when does a White Fang member travel with a human, and a Schnee no less?" Blake stepped forward and reached into her pocket. "You're out of date. I'm not a White Fang member, and Weiss is… different from other Schnees. I'm here to ask for a favor." The Faunus raised an eyebrow, and Blake held out the cloth. "Can you describe the person it came from?"

He took the cloth and unfolded it, then pulled off his scarf. Weiss jumped, and a quick glare from Blake was the only thing that kept her from exclaiming. The Faunus's nose was a dog's. It looked alarmingly out of place, like he had stuck it on over his own nose. He held the cloth to his nose and sniffed deeply, then closed his eyes and held his breath. Weiss opened her mouth, but Blake held up her hand. Weiss frowned and drummed her fingers on the hilt of her sword.

The Faunus held his breath for almost fifteen seconds before releasing it in a giant sigh. "It's from a girl. She's young, fifteen or sixteen. She's physically fit and small, she has black reddish hair and…" He paused and sniffed the cloth again. "Silver eyes. She fights with a weapon that turns into a rifle, and she likes cookies." He looked at Blake and Weiss and frowned at their expressions. "Is she someone you know?" Blake nodded. "Yes. Thank you, that was all we needed." Blake turned and looked at Weiss, and Weiss saw that she was doing her best to conceal her worry. They walked out of the alley, and as soon as they couldn't see the Faunus, Weiss whirled and looked at Blake. "What are we supposed to do?! Ruby's vanished, Yang's in prison, and the professors are all busy trying to save the tournament!"

Blake crossed her arms. "We need to go tell Yang. After that…" Blake trailed off and she looked down the street. "I don't know." Weiss clenched her fists and went to draw her sword, then paused and breathed out slowly. "We have to find Ruby. She could be in danger. We go tell Yang, then we go back to Beacon and see if we can find anything else to tell us where Ruby might have gone." Blake nodded. "That sounds good." They turned and started walking back towards uptown Vale to visit the prison. "What do you think Yang's going to do when she finds out?" Weiss looked at Blake. "I don't know. We just need to make sure she doesn't do something dangerous."


	6. Ruby 3

_The shot echoed through the stadium, and everyone froze. Mercury collapsed, and Yang turned and looked up into the bleachers at Ruby. Her eyes were glowing red, but as she looked up at Ruby, they widened with confusion. Yang looked down at Mercury, and she stepped back in shock, then turned and ran. She tore towards the exit, but the soldiers from Atlas surrounded her. One aimed his gun at Yang, and Ruby screamed…_

"Yang!" Ruby sat straight up, gasping. She looked to the left for Yang's bed, then stopped and slowly relaxed as she remembered where she was. "Oh yeah…" Ruby slid out of the bed and strapped her scythe on. She still couldn't understand what was going on. She had thought that Emerald was her friend, but that was obviously not the case. She worked for Cinder, and Cinder worked with Torchwick. "I'm only staying here long enough to get stronger. I can't help anyone right now. Once she teaches me, I'm going back to Beacon to help Yang." Ruby looked at her communicator, then slid it into her pocket and walked to the door. Ruby grabbed the handle, then sighed slowly. "She doesn't know Mom. She was lying. You can't trust her."

Ruby pulled the door open and stepped out into the hallway. She closed the door behind herself, then turned and jumped. Mercury was standing silently at the end of the hallway watching her. Ruby glared at him as she remembered how her cheek had felt. "What are you doing here?" Mercury shrugged. "Emerald wants you to come to the training room. So I came to show you the way." Ruby didn't move, and Mercury crossed his arms and sighed. "Are you going to come, or do I have to drag you?" Ruby hesitated, then walked down the hallway to stand next to him. Mercury smiled, then turned and walked towards the center passageway. "All right then." Mercury led her down the hallway, then pushed open the first door they came to. "After you." Ruby walked into the room and stopped.

It was huge. It was as large as the training room in Beacon, and it was completely bare except for equipment. There were trapeze rings, sets of bars, and other things Ruby didn't even recognize. There was a clinking sound, and Ruby looked up. A set of rings was knocking gently together, but there wasn't anyone there. "Emerald?" Ruby looked around, and Mercury pushed her forward. "Are you going to stand there all day? Get in there." Ruby glared at Mercury, then walked further into the room. She stopped underneath a set of rings and looked around, but the room was empty. "You couldn't have picked a worse place to pause. Are you really as dumb as you sound?"

Ruby flinched in shock and looked up. The voice was coming from the rings, but there was nothing there. Ruby rubbed her eyes, and when she looked up again Emerald was standing on the rings with her arms crossed. Ruby's mouth fell open in shock. "How did you do that?" Emerald dropped down in front of Ruby. "That doesn't matter. What matters is that you have no sense of danger. You can't tell when someone wants to hurt you. You need to be able to feel when someone is angry, and when they are weak." Emerald crossed her arms and looked at Ruby. Emerald's crimson eyes were calculating as she scanned every inch from Ruby's boots to her hood. "Try to hit me." Ruby blinked. "What? Why?" Emerald's eyes narrowed. Her fist clenched, and Ruby blinked as her feet were swept out from under her. She yelped as she landed on her back, and Emerald looked down at her. "Because I'm supposed to teach you. But right now, you can't fight, because you don't have a reason to." Ruby shook her head as she stood up. "That's not true! I want to be a Huntress."

Emerald scoffed. "Because of stories you heard when you were a kid. You don't have a reason. There isn't something that burns inside you to become one, a personal reason that spurs you on. You just want to be a hero. Mercury and I, we both have reasons for being here. Cinder has a reason for what she's doing. Until you have a reason, a need to fight, you will always lose!" Emerald's foot came down on Ruby's, and Ruby yelped then staggered back. She looked at Mercury, but he was leaning against the wall smirking. It was obvious he wasn't going to help. Ruby looked back at Emerald as she drew her daggers and a lump of dread formed in her stomach. " _What am I doing Yang?_ "


	7. Weiss 3

Weiss walked quietly down the hallway, Blake next to her. It had taken them hours to get permission to visit Blake, and even then it was only when Weiss had threatened to call her father. The officer showing them the way to Yang was old, and he moved slowly. "How is this man still an active police member?" Weiss grumbled to herself as they moved past the doors. "Because young whippersnappers like yourself underestimate what I'm capable of." The officer spoke without looking at her, and Weiss jumped guiltily and looked at Blake.

They came to a single doorway at the end of the hall, and the officer knocked once on the door. "Xiao Long, you have visitors." He pushed the door open without waiting for an answer and shoved Weiss and Blake inside, then slammed the door behind them. Weiss glared at the door, then turned to look at Yang. She was sitting against the wall looking out the window, and she didn't move. "What are you guys doing here?" Blake looked at her. "There was a Grimm attack at the school, and Ruby went missing. That new team from Haven, the one who you went up against in the finals, also went missing."

Weiss smacked her forehead as Yang's eyes went wide. "What?" She stood up and looked at Blake and Weiss. "Have you guys found out anything? Have you told the professors? Does Ruby have her scythe?" Weiss stepped forward and held up her hands. "We told the professors but they're trying to save the tournament so they aren't doing anything right now, and we're looking for clues but we haven't found anything yet. Don't freak out Yang, ok? I'm sure she's fine."

Yang looked at Weiss, then turned and punched the wall. "I can't believe I'm stuck in here!" Weiss's eyes widened and she moved to step forward, but Blake held her back. Blake looked at Yang. "Do you want to get out of here?" Yang looked at her with an incredulous expression. "Is that even a question? I need to go find Ruby!" Blake closed her eyes, then looked at Yang and nodded. "Ok." Weiss stared at Blake in shock as she pulled four Dust cartridges out of her bow. "I would have brought more, but this was all I could fit without it being noticeable." Yang looked at Blake with a slight expression of amusement. "Ok, but what are we going to do with four cartridges of Dust? We don't have weapons to use them with."

Blake didn't answer. Instead, she turned and looked at the wall and ran at it. At the last moment, she snapped the cartridge in half and spilled the Dust on herself before activating her Semblance. She swerved to the side as her shadow exploded, putting a hole through the wall the size of a trashcan. She looked at Weiss and Blake and twitched her ears. "Now we can leave." Yang looked at Weiss and grinned, then went and crawled through the hole. Blake crawled after her, and Weiss shook herself. "Fine, let's break the law guys. I'm glad we talked about it before doing it so we could make sure it was the best idea." Weiss continued to grumble to herself as she crawled through the hole, and behind her the sirens started to wail.


End file.
